There’s general agreement about one aspect of the race for mayor of St. Paul: It’s too quiet.

For a city electing a mayor to an open seat for the first time in 12 years, that’s unfortunate.

“We’re hearing what you’re hearing, which is a bit of a sleepy race, and we’re wondering what dynamics are playing into it,” said Jeanne Massey of FairVote Minnesota. The nonprofit advocates for the ranked voting system, which will get its first full city-wide test with the mayoral contest on Nov. 7. “My worry would be that means lower turnout, lower interest,” she said.

There’s hope more citizens will engage as Election Day nears, but Ramsey County Elections Manager Joe Mansky estimates that only 25 percent of our eligible voters will participate — about 58,000. That would be down a little from comparable past mayoral elections, he told us.

As for the dynamics, recent conversations shed some light:

The overall political environment is charged and uncertain. “I’m just speculating here, but we could be seeing some voter fatigue” from last year’s presidential election, suggests Mansky.

The influence of social media is increasing, with Massey observing that some campaigning has moved to Facebook.

There are a lot of people sharing their perspectives about their candidate choices on Facebook, but they’re not conversing as much publicly, Massey suggests. As a result, she wonders if “it’s sort of an insider conversation,” as opposed to one that takes place more broadly in the community.

We also wonder about what might be unintended consequences of the ranked-voting process, about which we’ve been, and remain, dubious. It will allow voters to rank up to six candidates in order of preference.

Campaign visibility: Ranked voting entails elimination of a primary election, which would have been held Aug. 8. The city’s signage ordinance would have allowed placement of lawn signs beginning in early June. Instead, they didn’t begin appearing until early September. The impact of lawn signs is debatable, but they’re a useful signal for many of us.

A big field of candidates: Ten individuals will be on the ballot, five of them considered serious contenders: former City Council Member Melvin Carter; Elizabeth Dickinson, a motivational speaker, author and life coach; former school board member Tom Goldstein; former City Council Member Pat Harris; and City Council Member Dai Thao. “You have so many choices that it’s hard to get people to pay attention,” ranked-voting opponent Chuck Repke told us. “We’re binary folks. We either like or dislike; it’s up or down; it’s left or right — that’s how we make choices.” Massey counters that “getting it down to two does not make it more exciting for people.” Instead, voters should appreciate the choice on the ballot, including the diversity of the candidates.

The appeal of the safer path, as candidates try to avoid offending those they may be courting for second- or third-choice votes.

As they do so, we’re concerned about candidates willingness to avoid taking risks in laying out the strong, visionary plans St. Paul needs to shape its future.

Both Massey and Repke draw comparisons between St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In the current mayoral election in Minneapolis, we’re seeing candidates all running against Mayor Betsy Hodges and her record, Repke said. In an open field like ours in St. Paul, “It’s difficult to do that. You’re not quite sure which one to define.”

Massey notes the 2013 race across the river when Hodges was elected in ranked balloting from a field of 35 candidates. In St. Paul this year, “I’m just personally surprised that there isn’t more of a public buzz,” similar to that open-seat race.

It’s considered likely that no St. Paul mayoral candidate will receive a majority of first-choice votes on Election Day and that a reallocation process will be needed to determine the winner. That will begin two days after Election Day on Nov. 9, and an unofficial result should be available by late afternoon or early evening on Nov. 11, Mansky told us.

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